ALMA trilateral agreement signed

A trilateral agreement between ESO, the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the National Institutes of Natural Sciences (NINS), concerning the operation of ALMA was signed in Tokyo, Japan, on 15 December 2015. The contributions of the three international partners ensure the continued success of this transformational (sub-)millimetre observatory located on Chajnantor Plateau in northern Chile. The new agreement provides the framework for the long-term operations of ALMA over the next 20 years

In the front is seen (from left to right): Tim de Zeeuw, ESO Director General, Katsuhiko Sato, NINS President, and F. Fleming Crim, NSF Assistant Director (on behalf of France Córdova, NSF Director), representing the three partners at the ceremony and signing the ALMA Trilateral Agreement. In the back row are: James S. Ulvestad (Division Director, NSF), Philip J. Puxley (Program Director, NSF), Rob Ivison (ESO Director for Science), Masahiko Hayashi (Director General of NAOJ), Junichi Watanabe (Deputy Director General of NAOJ), Hideyuki Kobayashi (Deputy Director of NAOJ), Tsuyoshi Sasaki (Head of Admininstration, NAOJ), Shin´Ichiro Asayama (NAOJ Chile),  Satoru Iguchi (East Asia ALMA Project Manager, NAOJ), Nikolaj Gube, (Deputy Head Legal and International Affairs, ESO), Yuko Nagasaka (Translator, NAOJ), and Takao IIzawa (Head of Administration, NINS).